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ICCC’s six-city India Mission 2013

Report and photographs on Mumbai programs

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC)’s India Mission 2013 which started on January 3 from Toronto has completed its first leg and has so far visited three of the six cities on its itinerary. These cities include Mumbai, Bangalore and Kochi. Led by ICCC’s President Naval Bajaj, the India Mission 2013comprises over a 100 small businesses from Canada and also includes a team from the Cities of Brampton and Markham led by their respective mayors – Her Worship Susan Fennell (Brampton) and His Worship Frank Scarpitti (Markham).

Launching of India-Canada SME Council on 05-01-13 - in the photograph are  Mayor of Brampton Susan Fennell and Mayor of Markham Frank Scarpitti & Maharashtra's Industries Minister Narayan Rane

In Mumbai, which was the first city on the itinerary, the delegates had eight interactive sessions during the two-day stay (January 4 and 5) in the commercial capital of India that included meetings with the diplomatic corps, government officials, briefing sessions, luncheon receptions and seminars on small businesses, and B2B meetings with leading private banking institutions, chambers of commerce, industry association and visits to movie studio and movie industry institutions.

Consulate General of Canada in Mumbai

Naval Bajaj presenting a memento to Dr. Subhada Rao of Yes Bank. Mike Mehta of ICCC & Susan Fennell Mayor of Brampton are also in the photograph

Dr. Subadha Rao, Chief Economist, Yes Bank, was the keynote speaker at the first event – a briefing session – organized by the Consulate General of Canada in India. Dr. Rao’s presentation on the emerging global and Indian economic scenario was followed by another sterling presentation by Nicolas LePage, Senior Trade Commissioner, Consulate General of Canada in Mumbai.

World Trade Centre - Mumbai & All India Association of Industries

Vijay Kalantri of World Trade Centre & AIAI greeting Mayor of Brampton Susan Fennell

At a luncheon reception of the Mission delegates organized by ICCC’s partner All India Association of Industries (AIAI) at the World Trade Centre – Mumbai, Naval Bajaj emphasized that the role that organizations such as ICCC, the AIAI and WTC-Mumbai perform helps in building more integrated socio-economic, cultural and political relations between Canada and India and directly benefit the people.

Meeting Maharashtra's Health Minister

Maharashtra's Health Minister Harish Shetty meeting Susan Fennell, Frank Scarpitti & Naval Bajaj

The delegates comprising Naval Bajaj, Mayor Fennell and Mayor Scarpitti then met Hon. Suresh Shetty, the Health Minister of Maharashtra. At the meeting Naval Bajaj explained to the Minister the twin mandates of the ICCC – of promoting bilateral trade and creating opportunities for the Indian Diaspora. The Mayors gave information of their cities to the Minister.

Yes Bank reception

India Mission 2013 delegates with Yes Bank team

Later that evening, senior officials of Yes Bank interacted with the Mission delegates at a special dinner that the bank had organized. Naval Bajaj recalled ICCC’s growing relationship with Yes Bank. He observed, “Just last month our Chamber collaborated with Yes Bank when Tushar Panday, Ashish Chandak and Kangan Mehta participated in ICCC’s Canada-India Mining Forum. The Yes Bank team will again be in Canada in March to attend the annual PDAC convention. We look forward to a long working relationship with Yes Bank in the future on mutually beneficial areas in addition to mining.”

SME Chamber of India

Maharashtra's Industry Minister Narayan Rane with Naval Bajaj, Susan Fennell & Frank Scarpitti

Speaking on the creation of a Global Entrepreneur Network, while participating in the Indian Leaders’ Summit organized by the SME Chamber of India, Naval Bajaj said the need is to create a network of entrepreneurs of Indian origin (both within and outside India) as such a network would go a long way in creating a better entrepreneurial environment in India. He also delivered a keynote address on creating an entrepreneurial network between Canada and India. Both ICCC and the City of Brampton signed a MoU with the SME Chamber for future collaborations. Hon. Narayan Rane, Maharashtra’s Ministry for Industries and Hon. Mahdev Naik, Goa’s Minister Industries also participated in the seminar.

Film industry

India Mission 2013 delegates at Prime Focus...  ...Whistling Woods

The delegates then visited three film industry sites – a studio, a film school and a visual entertainment service centre. The first stopover was at Reliance Media Works Studio where the Brampton’s Mayor Susan Fennell discussed the possibilities of collaboration between the Indian film industry and the City of Brampton where Brampton can become a venue for movie shootings. The delegates then visited Whistling Woods International Institute for Films, Media, Animation and Media Arts, and the last leg of the day’s visit was to Prime Focus, a visual entertainment centre that has operations in Vancouver and plans to start operations in Toronto.

Reliance Media Works official explaining the studio's operations to India Mission 2013 delegates

At Reliance Media works the delegates received a briefing and a theatre presentation of the studio’s major projects followed by a visit to the studio. At Whistling Woods, the delegates had an informal discussion with Chiatanya Chinchlikar, Business Head of the institute and at Prime Focus, another studio doing projects for foreign clients, the delegates received a brief 3D presentation at the studio and business interaction thereafter followed by visits to their sound studio and picture studio.

City of Brampton led by its Mayor Her Worship Susan Fennell will join the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce’s (ICCC) India Mission 2013.

Making this announcement at ICCC’s briefing session in Brampton on January 18, Mayor Susan Fannell said, “We’re interested in developing Brampton as major destination for foreign direct investment in the small and medium scale industry. I hope to have a successful mission to India in January.”

Brampton is one of the largest city in Canada with multicultural demography representing 175 distinct ethnicities speaking more than 70 different languages.

Brampton Mayor Susan Fannell

“We are happy that the City of Brampton led by the Mayor Susan Fennell has decided to join our mission. Brampton is home to a large number of Indo-Canadians who have strong business links with their former home,” Naval Bajaj, President, ICCC, observed. He added that this visit would pave the way for better business ties between Brampton-based small businesses with their counterparts in India.

ICCC’s India Mission 2013 will comprise small businesses from Canada and will visit six Indian cities in January 2013. The cities included in the Mission are Mumbai, Bangalore, Kochi, Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar, Delhi and Amritsar.

The 2013 Mission will have an unprecedented participation by two cities – Markham had announced its participation in the mission in October. Markham’s Mayor, His Worship Frank Scarpitti, will be leading the Markham delegation.

The Chamber’s India Mission 2013 is a multicity, multi-sector trade mission to India. In Kochi, the delegation will participate in the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, and in Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar, the delegation will participate in Vibrant Gujarat.

During the last few years the ICCC has focussed on supporting the small and medium businesses. As a logical corollary to this, the Chamber has also begun to develop ties with the third level of the government – the cities.

Mike Mehta, ICCC’s Director of Business Development, said, “The key highlights of the mission are B2B meetings, workshops, interactive sessions, meetings with decision makers, corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, government officials and representatives of chambers of commerce, and industry associations.”

The delegates participating in the mission represent key sectors such as trading, banking, construction, food security, education, energy security, infrastructure, etc. The two-week India Mission 2013 leaves for India on January 3 from Toronto, and returns to Toronto on January 16.

For more information and to register, please contact Naval Bajaj or Mike Mehta at indiamission@iccc.org

ICCC recognizes its stars

Chamber presents QE-II Diamond Jubilee medals at its annual Winter Gala

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medals to its nominees at the Winter Gala 2012 held December 7 at the Grand Victorian Convention Centre.

Hon. Joe Oliver, Minister for Natural Resources, and Hon. Julian Fantino, Minister for International Cooperation honoured the Chamber’s nominees with the medals.  Hon. Bal Gosal, Minister of State for Sports, Hon. Deepak Obhrai, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Dr. Asha Seth, Senator, Preeti Saran, Consul General of India in Toronto, and Her Excellency Hazel McCallion, Mayor of Mississauga, were special guests at the reception.

Among the recipients of the medals are members of the ICCC who have contributed significantly to making the Chamber one of the largest Indo-Canadian business and Diaspora organizations in Canada. In addition to these members, the ICCC also honoured members of the Indo-Canadian Diaspora who have contributed to enhancing the profile of the community. In fact, the ICCC had themed its annual Winter Gala celebration as ‘Recognizing our Stars’.

Explaining the basis of the selection process in his Presidential address, Naval Bajaj, President, ICCC, said that when the Governor General, the Right Honourable David Johnston’s office asked the Chamber to choose its nominees for the medal, the Chamber’s collective leadership decided to honour individuals who have made a sterling contribution to the Chamber and to the Indo-Canadian community.

He hastened to emphasize that the number of people who have contributed to the growth of the Chamber and to the community is substantially larger than those who were honoured at the event. “I wish we had more medals to honour some more of our Chamber’s and our community’s leaders,” Naval Bajaj noted.

Additionally, he also explained that the Canadian establishment had already recognized many people before ICCC could do so, and many of the Chamber’s past presidents, directors, members and supporters have already received the medal. “This is an indication of how well integrated our community is in Canada; it is also a measure of how successful we are,” Naval Bajaj observed.

The highlight of the medal presentation ceremony was the march to the presentation podium of the recipients accompanied by the band from the 32 Service Battalion of the National Defense. The presence of the band, led by Pipe Major Michael More, playing traditional bagpipes and drums, turned the presentation ceremony into an august occasion that was cherished by the audience.

Hari Panday, former President, ICCC, and Lieutenant-Colonel (Honorary), 32 Service Battalion, National Defence, was instrumental in arranging for the armed service personnel band to be involved with the medal presentation ceremony.

ICCC’s annual Winter Gala is a marquee event that saw over participation of over 600 guests that included prominent entrepreneurs, professionals, government officials, academics, community leaders, media representatives among others.  The guests were enthralled by Divya Kumar’s dance troupe’s fusion dances that were a fusion of western and Indian popular music and dance ensembles.

Speaking on the occasion, Hon. Joe Oliver, Minister of Natural Resources, said, “Canada is immensely proud of its relationship with India undefined proud to call itself friend to a nation that is becoming one of the world's great economic powers. The warmth of the relationship between Canada and India is bolstered commercially by a strong complementarity of interests. Canadian exports to India were up more than 20% last year, to a record $2.6 billion.”

He also lauded the role of the Indo-Canadians in fostering the bilateral relationship between Canada and India. He observed, “Throughout my time in India, whether I was meeting with Government Ministers, with representatives of their natural resources industry, or with academics undefined a common theme throughout was the connection to Indo-Canadians here in Canada. This community has done more than make its mark in Canada undefined Indo-Canadians have cemented the foundation of the Indo-Canadian friendship, and are a key driver of the relationship in numerous endeavours between our two countries. Economic relationships can truly flourish when they are supported by strong personal relationships.”

Minister Julian Fantino, in his speech, emphasized the role of the Indo-Canadian community to the fabric of the Canadian society. Preeti Saran, Consul General of India to Toronto and Hazel McCallion, the Mayor of Mississauga, also spoke on the occasion.

In a special message on the occasion, Hon. Jason Kenney, Canada’s Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, stated, “On behalf of Prime Minster Stephen Harper, I would like to convey to you my very best wishes for health and happiness. My sincere congratulations to those being awarded with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal. As Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, I would like to thank the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce and the medal recipients for your dedication and contributions to Canada.”

In a special message on the occasion, Hon. Tim Hudak, Ontario’s PC Leader, congratulated the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal awardees. “These prestigious awards are a richly-deserved acknowledgement of the many contributions your members have made to the Chamber, the Indo-Canadian community and the province during your organization’s 35 years of service.”

The sponsors for the event included Thapliyal and Rai, the entertainment sponsors for the evening; Air Wick, Brar Sweets and Minaaz Jewellery for the gift bags; Johnnie Walker for the tasting booth at the venue; Minaaz Jewellery and Johnnie Walker also sponsored the raffle prizes.

Several elected representatives including Patrick Brown, MP and the chairman of the Canada-India Parliamentary Association, along with other members of parliament, members of provincial parliament and councillors were also present at the event.

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) organized the first Canada-India Mining Forum to discuss cooperation between Canada and India in the mining sector. The forum witnessed participation from federal and provincial governments, trade bodies and industry associations, as well as professionals such as bankers and lawyers associated with the mining sector.

A delegation from YES Bank India comprising Tushar Pandey, President & Country Head Strategic Initiatives & Government Advisory Group (SIGA); Ashish N. Chandak, Executive Director and Regional Business Leader, Infrastructure Banking Group, YES Bank; Kangan Mehta, Manager, Strategic Initiatives & Government Advisory Group (SIGA) participated in the conference. YES Bank is the only private entity as advisor with the Ministry of Mines, Government of India.

In his introductory remarks Naval Bajaj, President ICCC said that Chamber has formed its ‘Canada-India Mining Committee’ to promote trade and investment in the mining and mineral sector development and to provide a collaborative platform for networking and sharing market intelligence. Quoting statistics, Naval Bajaj emphasized the need for institutionalized collaboration between Canada and India in this sector. Canadian mineral exports accounted for 22.8% of the country’s total exports and for 17.3% of its imports. Canada exported the minerals of the value of $973,428 to India and imported $644,608 in the year 2011.

During his presentation, Tushar Pandey explained in details on trends in Indian mining sector, including its institutional framework and existing legislations. He also spoke of the critical challenges faced by the sector and the business opportunities for Canadian companies available in India in this sector. India can learn from Canada for adopting innovative finance model to integrate small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to collaborate with other entities for value chain as SMEs can be a good value addition for the development of mining sector in India.

Mining and quarrying sector accounted for about 2.7% of the Indian GDP in 2010-11. Total value of mineral production in India during the same year was US$43 billion. A new act on the mining sector is under consideration with the standing committee for final approval. The act will provide 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in mining. The Canada-India cooperation in this sector will increase the exploration and extraction of the minerals in an efficient manner with increased productivity.

Ashish Chandak in his presentation said that mining and mineral industry is one of the fundamental building blocks of any developed industrial economy. Indian exports in this sector was US$30 billion in the year 2010-11, in which the diamond was the principal item of export which accounted 71.26%. India also imported ores and minerals of US$ 121.63 billion in the same year which shows that India is also one of the largest consumers. Canada has the world’s best technologies available for this sector so cooperation between the two will be a win-win situation for achieving zero waste mining.

Canadian knowhow can accelerate the entire mining life cycle in India so there is sufficient space for joint ventures through commercially viable technologies, services,  supplies, training and human resource development in this sector, exchange of information on research and development and most importantly the Canadian experience in handling the corporate social responsibility in dealing with the natives of those areas.

Anil Arora, Assistant Deputy Minister, Natural Resources Canada explained the strengths of Canada which has more than a century of recorded experience in mining. Canada is one of the top producers of over 11 minerals and metals such as potash, uranium, cobalt, aluminium, platinum group metals, etc.

Canada has over 1,400 exploration and mining companies most of them listed on the stock exchange and more than 200 producing mining establishments. Canada has generated employment in this sector for 320,000 people. In the next ten year Canada has planned $500 billion investment in this sector and the major challenge would be to have skilled labour in this sector. Canada’s natural resources exports in 2011 were $233.3 billion and it is 55.7% of total exports. Canada is also developing programs for green mining for zero emission to save the ecological balance.

Anil Arora said that Canada is willing to supply Indian markets in the long run as India as developing countries needs more natural resources and Canada have the capacity to fill that gap. Canada has a strong tradition of education, research and training in this sector. He also said that Canada has a friendly regulatory system for the FDI in this sector and shows concerns about Indian mining laws.

Christine Kaszycki Assistant Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, Ontario, Canada presented the snapshot on Ontario’s mining sector. Ontario is leader in the Canadian mining sector with consistent history of exploration and mineral development. Ontario has advanced technologies, experienced work force and a well-developed research & development support network. Ontario has 42 mines are in operation, 6 reopening this year with another 8 expected to open in the next decade and $ 6 billion in expanding and upgrading existing gold, nickel and diamond operations. Ontario has planned investment of over $4 billion in the next 3-4 years to develop operations in Ontario’s Ring of Fire area.

Brendon Marshall, Director, Economic Affairs, the Mining Association of Canada said that Mining is one of Canada's most important economic sectors and is a major driver of our country's prosperity. In 2011, the mining industry contributed $35.6B to Canada’s GDP, employed 320,000 workers, and paid $9B in taxes and royalties to provincial/federal governments. $140B in new mining investment is expected over the next decade with multiple billions expected in most regions of Canada. Mining industry is cyclical – although current global economic slowdown has resulted with reduced mineral demand and prices, the long-term demand for metals and minerals is good with the continued development of emerging economies, such as China, India and Brazil.

Canada is a global mining leader and is home to the second-most “top 100” mining companies in the world. About 1,000 Canadian exploration companies operate in other countries. He predicted India is one of the most efficient and consumer oriented growing market so there is a wider scope for the International companies to start their operations in India.

Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC)­ – Young Professionals Committee lent their support to the Seva Food Bank earlier this month on December 1st as part of their Annual Food Drive. The Seva Food Bank first opened its doors in September 2010 with a mission to positively impact local communities based on the philosophy of seva – that is selfless service and the well-being of all. Currently, the Seva Food Bank provides over 25,000 pounds of food each month to over 1000 registered client families. As part of the Mississauga Food Bank’s city-wide network, Seva Food Bank provides safe, nutritious and culturally appropriate food across the L5B and L5C postal codes.

On the day of the Food Drive, food donations were received from across the Peel Region including several Gurdwaras, a Mandir, and a local grocery stores. At Seva Food Bank’s headquarters ICCC-YP Committee members teamed up with Seva Food Bank volunteers to receive, sort, and redistribute the food items for both Seva Food Bank clients and the Mississauga Food Bank.

That weekend alone, Seva Food Bank succeeded in collecting over 30,000 pounds of food and over $75,000 in pledges. Prabjot Bal, Vice Chair of the ICCC-YP Committee, highlighted that by participating in the Seva Food Bank’s Annual Food Drive ICCC-YP was able to demonstrate its social commitment to supporting the community in which we all live in.

To see the highlights of the event, please visit here on Facebook.

 

ICCC's Hard Hats Tour of Hans Dairy

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) organised a Hard Hats Tour at Hans Dairy on November 21, 2012, which saw an enthusiastic response from the Chamber’s members. Speaking on the occasion, Naval Bajaj, President of the Chamber said that purpose of the Hard Hats Tour is to provide an innovative learning opportunity to ICCC’s members. “The participants are given a privileged behind the scenes tour of a successful business enterprise, where owners of participating businesses host the tours and provide insight into establishing and managing a successful business.”

Gurdarshan Hans established Hans Dairy in 1997 and since then it has grown to become the largest Ontario dairy specializing in South Asian dairy products. Born in Malaysia, Gurdarshan emigrated from Punjab to England in 1963. He came to Canada in 1975 and saw a growing need for ethnic products as the multicultural community was rapidly expanding. Gurdarshan launched Hans Dairy as a milk distribution company and nearly a decade later, when his daughter Sarab Hans joined the company, Hans Dairy launched a series of South Asian dairy products that turned the dairy into one of the fastest South Asian dairies in Canada.

Today, Hans Dairy has an established line of products: Dahi (yogurt), Lassi (butter milk), Makhan (butter) and fruit smoothies available in five different flavours. Hans Dairy’s mission statement from the very beginning has been to offer dairy products that provide their customers with a little taste of home.

Sarab Hans, the Managing Director of Hans Dairy, while conducting the tour of the dairy’s processing facility, gave an overview of the project and narrated the different approaches the dairy took to win customers. “Today, we fulfill the needs of the South Asians and give them a taste of their home in Canada.” Sarab joined this business in 2006 and through her enthusiasm, direction and innovative approach radically changed the dairy products business.

In a session that was immensely educative to the participants, Sarab explained the entire process of turning milk from raw material to finished product for the market. Hans Dairy uses high quality bacteria for the yogurt which is healthy for the human body and is vital in preserving the products for up to 40 days without the need for chemicals. Hans Dairy takes pride in producing all natural products with no additives or preservatives and will continue to do so going forward.

Global economic situation is worrisome

Jason Henderson, Treasurer and Head of Global Markets,
HSBC Bank Canada

	Toronto: The fiscal cliff in the United States, the recession in Europe and the slowdown in China are three key economic issues that will impact the global economic situation in the near term, Jason Henderson, Treasurer and Head of Global Markets, HSBC Bank Canada, said while addressing members and guests of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) Monday.
Henderson was speaking at the ICCC-HSBC Bank Canada joint seminar on Global Markets. He explained that the fiscal situation in the United States would not necessarily lead to a sudden fall of the cliff; there is a definite chance of a gradual slide once the tax cuts from the Bush era lapse.
	Henderson also said that the economic situation in Europe was unlikely to alter radically because while the Eurozone was a monetary union, it isn’t a fiscal union. Hence, countries such as Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece will not willing implement austerity measures, and Germany wouldn’t be forever willing to offer bailouts.
The final cause for concern is China, where the government has taken measures to slowdown the overheated economy as it shifts focus from spending on infrastructure to enhancing local consumption. This is a significant change in emphasis and will have deep-rooted impact on the global economy, Henderson noted.
	Speaking on the occasion, Naval Bajaj, President, ICCC, said, “In the context of today’s talk by Jason Henderson I would like to draw your attention to foreign investment protection agreement that is still being negotiated between Canada and India, and to which Prime Minister Harper urged the Indian government to move expeditiously to reach a conclusion during his trip.”
“We as a Chamber are appreciative of the fact that India is a democracy where instant decisions are impossible, and that all decisions are arrived at after a thorough consideration of all factors. Nevertheless, our Chamber believes that an agreement on foreign investment would propel Canada-India trade and investment relations to more sustainable levels.”

The interactive session drew enthusiastic response from the participants, and a lengthy Q&A session followed. To specific questions, Henderson said the exchange rate of the Canadian loonie would stay stable while the exchange rate of the rupee would fluctuate within a range. He also said that it would take at least a decade to resolve all the fiscal challenges that the world is facing at present.